Locked Up
by Amerihawk
Summary: When Fitz is kidnapped, he thinks the worst is near...but a string of shocking revelations bring Fitz to reconsider everything he thought he'd finally figured out.
1. I'm Not What You Think

Locked Up

Chapter 1- I'm Not What You Think

* * *

Darkness.

It was all Fitz could see.

Well, he couldn't _see_ the darkness, as such, but he felt it behind what he could only assume was a blindfold.

There was no specific sounds around him, only the rhythmic sounds of a vehicle moving towards it's destination. The usual rumble of the vehicle wasn't enough to distract him from his current situation.

He had been in the lab, just leaving for the night, when a black haze surrounded him. Next thing he knew, he was here, unable to move, to see, to _feel_.

Coulson had warned them that abduction was always a possibility in their line of work. Enemy forces would want their intelligence, especially in the case of Fitz and Simmons, who possessed untold amounts of knowledge. Fitz had taken that with a pinch of salt, if he was being honest, because the idea of him being taken without his knowledge was ridiculous to him. He was always aware, that was something that he prided himself on.

Apparently, he wasn't aware enough.

How stupid must he have been to allow himself to be taken by just anybody? Fitz mentally cursed himself for not looking out for himself. Jemma was gone, taken somewhere by the Monolith and Fitz was working double time to try and find her and now his work was stunted by this rigmarole that he was currently being subjected to.

Leo Fitz did not have the time for being kidnapped.

Banging his head against the wall, adjusting his bound arms and legs, Fitz sighed as his eyes fluttered closed from exhaustion and a similar black veil dropped over his eyes and the world around him thudded to a dull halt.

* * *

"Wake up, sunshine," a rough yet familiar voice snapped at him. Fitz still felt immensely groggy, limbs aching from being confined for such a long period of time.

"What?" His voice was hoarse and croaky.

"I _said_...wake up. It wasn't a suggestion." Fitz knew the voice, he _knew_ he did. He just couldn't place it. That low tone, the confident inflections, it was something he recognised. Something that he had spent far too long analysing. But surely it couldn't be, right?

"Where the hell am I?"

"Oh just someplace north of nowhere. That's none of your concern. Now _get up_."

Fitz blinked. And everything fell into place. He had been right all along.

"Ward."

Ward smiled wryly. "Hello, Fitz."

Fitz sighed, letting the anger just wash over him. He had been angry at Ward many times before and this was no different, except for the fact that Ward had him as a hostage. "I should've fucking guessed it'd be you. If there's one person I can count on to _fuck_ everything up, it's you."

"Aw, am I getting in the way of your reading?" Ward tilted his head condescendingly, folding his arms as one of his guards ripped Fitz from the back of the truck roughly, holding him between them.

Fitz struggled aimlessly and scoffed. "Jemma's missing and I've been trying to find her. I don't know why I'm even telling you. You don't care about any of us."

Ward swallowed audibly and went to say something, settling instead for a dry chuckle. "Always prudent to keep up with old friends. Just in case one of them becomes useful."

"Is this you telling me that you need me for something?"

"And what would that be? For you to look at an object and stumble over your words trying to label what exactly it is? No thanks, Fitz. You're nothing more to me than leverage."

"For who? Coulson? Skye?"

Ward rolled his eyes. "Like you expect me to tell you. Let's leave it at this: you're staying here until I no longer need you. No questions asked, no complaints, no trying to leave. I promise you, you will not succeed."

"They'll realise I'm missing, Ward. They'll come and find me."

"Without you and Jemma around, that team is useless. Skye can't hack me anymore than you can lift a house. Coulson is nothing without those around him and May won't be able to fly to where we are, never mind kick us in the chin. So, again, you will not succeed in trying to escape or be rescued. Face it, Fitz, you're here with me until I say you can go."

Fitz shook his head. "You know there was a time when I would've felt safe around you. Just another one of your charades, I guess."

"God, you never stop talking, do you? I thought you science types were supposed to be quiet and introverted. You just seems to say whatever comes into your head, given that you can actually vocalise a thought on that occasion."

"Jesus, would you let that go? I'm much better, no thanks to you. It was your fault I was in that position in the first place, you piece of _shit_." Fitz spat thickly at Ward's feet, some of the spray covering Ward's shoes.

Ward shook his head slowly. "Oh, Fitz, you swearing is the strangest thing. You're like this little puppy and then that foul language comes out of your mouth."

"I'm Scottish," Fitz said, clearing things up.

Ward shoved Fitz along the hallway, walking with him until they reached a door. Ward opened it, shoving Fitz inside. He turned to the guards walking behind him. "Just a minute."

They nodded, letting Ward slip through the doorway.

He regarded Fitz with hard eyes.

"We don't have a lot of time."

* * *

"What? Ward, what's going on?" Fitz asked from the floor, still bound.

Ward gritted his teeth. "You have to trust me, Leo. I don't want to hurt you but I need them to believe that I do. This all hinges on how well you can act scared and upset and angry."

Fitz stared at him in vague disbelief. "Well, that shouldn't be too difficult considering everything you've done to me."

"Look, I don't have time for apologies, okay? I promise you, we'll talk tonight and I'll explain everything. I _promise_ you that."

"You also promised me that I was safe with you, remember? And look how _that_ turned out!"

Ward nodded promptly. "Good. You're mad. Just keep it up and I can untie you soon, okay?"

Fitz scoffed. "Whatever. How do I know this isn't an act? You've certainly fooled me before but it's not going to happen this time."

Ward huffed. "Fitz, I don't blame you for being mad at me. I really don't, I would be too. But your survival depends on you being able to play a part. _Please_ , just trust me."

Fitz nodded slowly. "Okay."

Ward grinned. "Good." His fist shot out, connecting forcefully with Fitz's jaw, making the smaller boy wince as he spat blood from his mouth.

"What the fuck, Ward? I thought you wanted me to trust you!"

"And I thought you were smart. I dragged you in here and if I bring you back out without so much as a scratch, eyebrows are going to be raised."

Fitz conceded that that was true, but he couldn't deny the throbbing pain in his face. "Okay."

"I'm not what you think I am, Fitz. In time, you'll come to believe it."

"I highly doubt that."

Two sharp knocks at the door interrupted whatever Ward was about to say and startling Fitz.

"Ward. Time's up."

Ward winked quickly at Fitz. "Showtime." Ward grabbed onto Fitz's arm, tightly wrapped his fingers around his bicep. Fitz ignored the shiver that ran through him, hostile and cold and concentrated on his best performance. He excelled at Drama at school, but that was years ago and his life didn't depend on pulling off a good performance of 'Romeo and Juliet'.

The door opened and the bulky guards had remained, staring blankly at the two.

"You just about finished, Ward?" The smallest one nodded to Fitz.

Ward scoffed. "If I had it my way, he'd already be dead. Piece of shit just gets in the way."

FItz scowled and tried not to laugh when he realised that he wasn't acting. "If you'd let me go, maybe I wouldn't get in the way."

"Nice try, kid," Ward laughed darkly, nailing the role of the evil villain. Fitz wondered if this was who he actually was and not an act. He knew that Ward wasn't who he said he was, but his speech in the bedroom had Fitz curious as to what the truth was and he was trying to pretend like he wasn't holding out hope that Ward was on their side all along and that it was all just a big misunderstanding.

"They'll come and find me, you know."

"So you said," Ward shrugged.

"You should be worried about that. They'll want to bring me home."

Ward shook his head slowly. "What you're missing, Fitz, is that without Agent Simmons there to corral the others into putting in effort to find you, there's no motive. Skye barely knows you're there, Coulson wants to buy into that whole adopted son thing a little bit _too_ much and May doesn't like anybody except Coulson and herself."

Fitz looked off thoughtfully into the distance, wondering how much of what Ward said was actually true.

"We're here," the tallest, most muscular guard announced in his deep growl.

Fitz was starting to panic and starting to wonder where 'here' was.

Ward kicked opened the door and faced him with what appeared to be a smirk, but Fitz knew was a convincing veil of confidence. Underneath, however, Ward was feeling just as scared at he knew Fitz was. Ward blinked a few times before gently brushing his fingers against Fitz's wrist. Fitz couldn't help but feel a little more relaxed at the touch.

"Where are we exactly?" Fitz tried.

"Your new home, kid," Ward answered, "at least for a little while, anyway. You'd better get used to it."

Fitz looked around the futuristically decorated room, seeing armed guards at every turn. Swallowing his fear, Fitz tried to be smart about things. He wasn't going to trust Ward straight off the bat. That would be stupid. After tonight and his supposed talk with the man, he would figure everything out then and only then. Until he knew of Ward's plan, there was not much point in trying to get a handle on anything.

As if instructed, every gun in the room turned on Fitz.

Fitz felt his heart rate increase dramatically as his body suppressed a shiver. As he appraised the sheer mass of weaponry in the room, Fitz gritted his teeth and turned to the man next to him, whose arms were tightly folded behind his back.

 _Oh god. Don't let me down, Ward._


	2. Establishing The Facts

Chapter 2- Establishing The Facts

* * *

 _You need to relax_ , Fitz's inner voice told him sharply as the guns maintained him as their target.

Focusing on his breathing, Fitz stared at each gun and realised that they were not about to shoot him unless Ward gave the command. He guessed that this was where the whole 'trust me' thing came into play. Fitz had to trust that Ward's explanation was the whole truth and he wasn't about to lead him to the slaughter. One word from Grant Ward ended his life and Fitz wasn't sure how he felt about that. Putting so much faith in somebody who had fucked him over in what was pretty much the worst way possible.

He felt Ward's hard hand wrapped around his shoulder and suddenly the dynamic shifted. The hand _should_ have felt like a menacing reminder of his possible death, but the touch morphed into a soothing, grounding presence, something that said _I've got you, Fitz_. Fitz didn't really know how to feel about that, but he filed it away for later consideration. It was in that particular box with finding Jemma. If he was to find her, he had to escape or convince Ward to let him continue somehow. Though he didn't think that Ward had any intention of letting him go before he had the chance to...well, do whatever Ward had brought him here to _do_. He still hadn't been briefed on that particular facet of Ward's plan. If that was the right word.

Ward put his hands up. "Guns down. This is the guy I was talking about. The S.H.I.E.L.D agent that's going to help us with our problem. I have orders from the boss not to let him die. So no shooting him or it's not going to be me that you have to worry about."

Fitz did an internal victory dance and reminded himself not to externalize his glee. The guns were still readily available to anybody who wanted to kill him…

His eyes lighted as he realised that the opposite was also true. He wasn't the _best_ shot, that much was true, but he was still a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. That meant that he knew how to shoot someone if he needed to. He had been in the field, he had shot people dead. He could do it again if his life was on the line. And this time it was Jemma's life too. Though wherever she had gone would have to wait. He hated thinking it, but the next thing on his mind was getting out of this situation.

Ward grabbed his shoulder roughly and Fitz was about to yell until he realised that Ward had to convince them he wasn't trying to protect Fitz…if that was actually what his plan was. He had somewhat convinced Fitz in the room that he was on his side, but Grant Ward was nothing if not a good liar. Fitz found himself knowing truly knowing what the facts of the case were. Facts were usually his failsafe. Strategy was something that was hit or miss, but nobody could argue with the facts. However, when they came from an unreliable narrator such as Grant Ward, they were somewhat questionable.

"Come on, kid. I'm taking you to see the boss."

Ward pushed against the back of Fitz's head and the latter began to walk in the direction assigned. Fitz could feel the cold, heavy weight of a gun being pressed against his head and it ached uncomfortably. He supposed that Ward wouldn't shoot him before meeting the boss, so he could assure his own safety until then.

No guards came with them, trusting Ward to deliver him on his own. Fitz wanted to point out that trusting Ward with anything became a risky little game that one had to be prepared to lose at to play.

Ward side eyed the cameras and clicked his tongue, lowering the gun promptly. "Sorry about that. I had to show them that you were here and not to be touched."

"And the boss?" Fitz questioned. "What do they want to do with me?"

"You're going to be helpful to him, Fitz. When she asked me about my S.H.I.E.L.D team, I talked about you and how good you were with making things."

Fitz smirked. "Bet you just couldn't wait to unload all of your intel that you'd collected about us over the year."

Ward sighed. "It was hard, Fitz. Look, after we see the boss, we'll hole up in my room and I'll tell you everything that happened, okay?"

"Why would you tell me anything? I thought I was merely here to serve a purpose."

"Do you not remember what I told you not five minutes ago? _Trust_ me. Or at least try. If you don't, this isn't going to end well for either of us. The quicker you learn to play along with what's going on, the sooner you'll be able to get out of here and find Jemma."

"Don't even mention her name. You almost killed her, Ward. She may have forgiven you, but I certainly haven't."

"I know that it's going to take time, Leo. I don't expect you to just forgive me overnight, but I'd really like to make a start. Hopefully tonight you'll understand why what happened was justified."

" _Justified_?"

Ward sighed once more. "No, I didn't mean it like that. Nothing justifies what I did. There's a reason behind everything and you'll find that out. For now, just trust me. I won't wrong you again, Fitz. I _promise_."

"I've heard promises from you before. Why should I trust you now?"

Ward glanced up before smirking. "Because, kid, this time you've got no other choice."

Fitz frowned as the door panel slid open, allowing them entrance. "That doesn't sound so comforting, I have to say."

"It's not supposed to be." Ward put the gun back against Fitz's head and marched him into the room where the boss would be.

* * *

Fitz felt the man's authority almost instantly.

The man coughed as Fitz and Ward entered the room.

"Ah, Ward, everything went according to plan, yes?"

Ward nodded. "Yes, Mr. Warner, sir. He's here and he's ready to co-operate."

Ward pushed Fitz forward with the gun.

Fitz breathed in deeply.

"So you're this brilliant engineer Ward told me about?"

Fitz shrugged. "I guess."

"Don't be humble, boy, from what I hear you achievements are something to be proud of. Unless Ward isn't paining a truthful picture, that is?"

Fitz toyed with a smirk before keeping his expression flat. Selling Ward out wouldn't help him. Painting Ward as a liar would only hurt him in the long run and that wasn't what Fitz wanted. That wasn't on the agenda. The only thing that mattered now was his survival so that he could get back to searching for Jemma. Everything else would have to take a backseat. He would get his answers from Ward, do whatever Mr. Warner wanted him to do and then escape.

And then it finally hit him.

What if what Mr. Warner wanted would endanger those he cared about? What if it was a Hydra operation? Knowing what he thought he knew about Ward, that made sense. Could he do that? Fitz didn't know if his own safety and that of Jemma was worth the potential destruction he could cause just by following the commands of Ward and his team. Jemma would have had a pros and cons list ready by now but Fitz couldn't seem to think clearly about his task.

Ward intervened, the heavy silence far too lengthy for anyone's liking. "Fitz has a thing about his own accomplishments. He can never discern good work from adequate work. Trust me when I say that he's done some great stuff."

There were those words again coming out of Ward's mouth.

 _Trust me._

Fitz didn't know if he had it in him to trust Ward again, although he knew he had to do it to some degree if he wanted to make it out of the base alive and well enough to search for Jemma. He was about to speak when Mr. Warner cut him off.

"Well, there we have it. Welcome aboard, Leopold Fitz. Gosh, what a name. It doesn't quite roll off the tongue, does it?"

Fitz glared characteristically at Warner. "Fitz is fine."

Warner smiled wryly. "Fitz it is, then! Well, there's nothing for you to do today except acquaint yourself with your new surroundings. You'll be here until the project is finished."

He was talking like Fitz had signed up voluntarily for this project rather than being forced into it via abduction.

"I'll have Ward show you around and show you where you'll be sleeping. It'll be close to him so that he can keep an eye on you. After all, we wouldn't want you trying to escape now, would we?"

"Escape sounds fine to me," Fitz quipped.

Warner stepped forward, stroking Fitz's face with his thumb. "Come now, Fitz, don't be that way. You're doing us and the world a great service. I don't think you'll be wanting to escape once you fully comprehend what we are trying to achieve here. Ward will brief you on that more tomorrow. For now, I just wanted to meet you and to introduce myself. I'm Richard Warner, I oversee everything that goes on here."

"Lovely."

Warner chuckled. "You were right, Ward. He's got some fire in him."

Ward nodded. "It can be a bad thing. Kid's too stubborn for his own good."

Warner left his hand on Fitz's skin, sending a cold chill down the boy's back. "Now, Ward, play nicely. I know that you two have some history behind you, but that's nothing that can't be solved with some apologies and sincere conversation. Anyway, I'll leave you both to it. Ward, if you will."

Ward grunted and dragged Fitz out of the room by his collar.

Once the door panel slid closed behind them, Ward grinned. "Good performance."

"I wasn't acting," Fitz barked, shrugging himself free of Ward's grasp.

Ward sighed and shook his head. "Okay. Well, I'll show you your room and then we'll talk like I promised. That sound good?"

Fitz shrugged. "As long as I get some answers, I don't care what we do."

Ward smirked. "Oh, Fitz. Always to the point. You'll get answers, I promised you that."

* * *

Fitz and Ward sat cross-legged opposite each other on Ward's bed. Fitz stared down at his watch, waiting for Ward to begin.

"Okay, the first thing that you have to know is that I'm not a part of Hydra and I never was."

Fitz blinked slowly. "I don't believe you."

"Fitz, I told you that I was never going to lie to you. Remember? Remember what I said."

"Of course I remember. In the basement, you said that you wouldn't lie to any of us again. You said that after everything, we deserved the truth."

Ward shifted. "I broke that once. By telling you that I was a member of Hydra. That was never true. I was acting like I was under Warner's instruction."

Fitz frowned. "I thought _this_ was Hydra. If it's not, then what are you guys doing here?"

"I guess you could call us the Switzerland of this little war between S.H.I.E.L.D and Hydra. We're on nobody's side, but we want the war to stop. And we're going to make it happen."

"Why? What's the endgame here? Peace? Neutrality?"

Ward shook his head. "I honestly don't know what Warner wants out of this. For me, I saw it as an opportunity to do some good. I'll explain and then you can ask your questions, okay?"

Fitz shrugged.

Ward sighed. "Okay. Before I joined up with Warner, I actually was a legitimate S.H.I.E.L.D agent. That's why Warner sought me out, because I already had an in with both sides. I enjoyed my time with S.H.I.E.L.D, I really did. It taught me a lot, but I realised pretty early on that it was corrupt as an organization. I learned about the Hydra infiltration and realised that no good was going to come of that. Warner found me and tasked me with being a triple agent. I would work for him and make both S.H.I.E.L.D and Hydra think that I was working for him. When Rogers and Romanoff leaked the Hydra files to everyone, Warner told me to reveal my supposed identity as a double agent to S.H.I.E.L.D..

"Hydra still think that I'm working solely for them and that I only betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. Warner will give me instructions as to when I can leave Hydra for good. I presume he's waiting until everything's set up so my reveal will weaken their infrastructure."

Fitz exhaled. "That's one hell of a complicated plan. I have to say, it's smart."

Ward nodded. "So you believe me now? That I'm not Hydra?"

Fitz hummed. "Yeah. I believe you. But you're still an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D. That means you're still an enemy of mine."

"See, this is the downside of your unwavering loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D. You can't trust them either. You don't know who might be a Hydra spy and who's actually on your side. People can make promises and establish their loyalty, but you never truly know."

"There you go with those words again. _Trust_. And _promise_. Why?"

Ward sighed. "They're important. It's important that you of all people trust me, Leo."

"Why me?"

Ward turned away slightly, though not enough to reveal anything untoward to Fitz. "Because you're here and…if you don't, it'll get you killed. When I make a promise to you, you have to know that I'm going to keep it."

"How can I even be sure of that? I know I've asked this a lot, but I still can't be sure what your deal is."

"Fitz, the fact that I even told you the truth at all is a lot. I never usually divulge anything about my life. The less people know about you, the less they can use against you. It's always been like that."

Fitz felt an unexpected pang of sadness at what Ward's life must have been like. Lonely, with nobody that he could trust with his secrets. "You could have talked to me."

"No, Fitz. You would've ran straight to Coulson with what you knew and we both know it. Despite how close we had become, S.H.I.E.L.D would always come first with you. You've grown up a lot since then. You take time to think about things now. I can see the difference in you."

Fitz swore he would never look at Grant Ward the way he used to the moment the capsule had left he and Jemma stranded underwater. But he couldn't help himself. Everything he used to feel was dangerously rising to the surface, bubbling up his chest and throat until he couldn't hold it in anymore.

He reached across the bed and pressed his lips against Ward's, wrapping his hand around the back of his neck and pulling him closer.

He expected Ward to recoil, disgusted as Fitz's embrace.

But he didn't.

Instead, he deepened the kiss, tongues sliding against each other's, lips locked in a fierce embrace. Hands roaming across hard surfaces, fingers grasping for _more_.

Fitz pulled away abruptly, breaking the connection and breathing heavily.

Fuck. He had promised himself he would never give into his feelings for Ward and he had gone and broken that promises. It turned out that promises didn't mean as much as Fitz thought they did.

"Fitz?" Ward's eyes were full of lust. "If you want this…"

Then Ward uttered the two words that Fitz had both dreaded and longed to hear.

"…I'm yours."


	3. Aftermaths

Chapter 3- Aftermaths

* * *

The blaring of the alarm woke both Fitz and Ward up instantly.

Or so Ward thought.

Fitz, in fact, had been lying awake for approximately an hour, just staring at the ceiling wondering how his life had come to this.

There he was, naked, with Grant Ward's musculature sleeping soundly next to him. He could feel the rhythm of Ward's warm breaths on his arm, a constant pendulum of a reminder of what had happened the previous night. Fitz remembered it all as though it was still happening.

Clothes were torn off of bodies like they were poison. Lips, tongues, grasping at every inch of bare, warm skin. Hands touching wherever they could reach.

He remembered gazing at Ward's naked body in awe, lust clouding his eyes. He remembered Ward encouraging him to touch, to kiss, to _bite_. He remembered Ward filling him up so completely that he wondered how he had gone so long without it, without _him_.

In the cruel, cold light of morning, Fitz remembered how.

The capsule, the water, the frantic timbre in Jemma's voice. The sight of Ward stood inside the building, just watching the capsule as it floated away, his blank expression fading and fading, getting further away with every dire second that passed.

Ward's eyes blinked open abruptly, robotically, as he too realised where he was and what had happened. "Fitz."

Fitz yawned falsely as he turned to face his lover. "Ward."

"This really happened. I didn't just dream it."

Fitz sighed deeply. "It really happened."

Ward noticed a gleam in Fitz's eye. "You regret it. I knew I shouldn't have…you still don't trust me completely. It was wrong of me to take advantage."

"Ward, you didn't. I gave myself to you. I wanted it."

Ward bit his lip sadly. "Past tense?"

"I…I don't know. What happened last night was amazing, there's no doubt about that. I just…"

"Wouldn't do it again. I get it."

Fitz rolled his eyes. "Okay, stop trying to finish my sentences and maybe I can explain to you what I actually mean."

Ward nodded passively, leaning on his arm. Fitz became fully aware that he was naked, again.

"Before everything happened, I had some very strong feelings for you. I fought them, because you didn't show signs of feeling the same way. When you…pressed the button, it became so easy to hate you. So I did. I ignored everything I felt and focused on recovering, I focused on hating you for what you did. Seeing you yesterday, it brought all of that back up. The…love…and the hate. I kissed you because I wanted to, because I was overwhelmed by how I felt. When we took things further, it felt like nothing could ever go wrong. Like I was invincible. When I woke up, I realised that this can't happen."

Ward took it all in, showing no emotions. Fitz knew he felt things, he just never wanted to reveal them before he was ready. If at all. "Why can't we? Is it…did you and Jemma…"

Fitz grimaced. "No! Oh god no! She's like my sister! I could never…there's no one else, Grant."

"So it's Grant now, is it?" Ward smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Shut up," Fitz groaned weakly. "There really is no one else. It's just…even with everything you told me, we're on different sides. I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D and you're…Switzerland. I don't want to be the one to fraternise. I don't want to be reduced to your source of intel. And when Warner finds out…"

"You're thinking way too far ahead. Warner would never have to find out about us, Fitz. And you're forgetting that I'm not actually an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"You're not an enemy to Hydra, either, though. And that's almost worse than opposing S.H.I.E.L.D."

Ward sighed. "It seems that way. But that's all just politics, Fitz. That's completely separate from how I feel about you. Fuck, how I've always felt about you."

Fitz frowned. "Always?"

"Since I met you, Fitz. I knew what I was doing was going to be that much harder in the long run. Don't let this sound the wrong way, but it was really easy to kidnap you knowing that I was going to be able to see you."

Despite himself, Fitz laughed. "That sounds psychopathic."

"I know how it sounds, it just gave me an excuse to see you. I never said it was healthy. I missed you."

Something inside Fitz told him not to let those words affect him. He tried. Looking back, he could honestly say that he tried his hardest. But Ward's presence there, lying in the bed, looking at him with such honesty in his eyes, was undeniable to him.

"I didn't let myself miss you. I didn't let myself confront what you did and how I felt because I knew it would destroy me. All of that trust and hope I put in you, all of what I felt for you, it would've just been… _gone_. And I think I'm glad that I can still feel something for you, even after everything that's happened. Despite what you think, I wouldn't have changed last night for anything."

Ward beamed. "Me neither."

"I'm just thinking about what happens when I leave here."

Ward dropped his elbow and lay flat on his back, sighing at the ceiling. "I hadn't thought about that."

Fitz turned to face him, fingers dancing along the muscular chest in front of him, flashing him back to the night before. "You could come with me. Explain your story to the team. They'd be sceptical but I think they could learn to trust you again. Things could go back to the way they were and we could be together."

Ward shook his head. "The team would never believe me. Especially Skye."

"Daisy," Fitz corrected.

Ward eyed him curiously. "Is this you saying that you trust me? Completely?"

Fitz hesitated. "Maybe not 100%, but enough. Enough to think that time will help me get there."

"What changed? Just a few hours ago you were ready to kill me."

"I don't know," Fitz said simply. "I allowed myself room to breathe. Room to stop being so angry all the time. And you…you opened up to me. You did something that I've never seen you do with anyone before. You trusted me with personal information about yourself and I know that took a lot. It shows me that you're in this. So maybe I could be too. Maybe I can finally let this go and just be the person I've wanted to be for so long. There's nothing stopping us now, except for Warner."

Ward shrugged. "Warner isn't an obstacle. He doesn't care about anything another than keeping peace between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra."

Fitz swallowed heavily. "About that. I'm not entirely convinced that that's his ultimate goal. From my experience, nobody interferes in such a way if they only want peace."

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Fitz, I've often thought the same thing. But I'm the one he trusts. If he's going to plan anything, he'll tell me. And then I'll tell you."

"Will you?"

Ward nodded. "You might have to keep it from S.H.I.E.L.D., but yes I would."

"I don't want to keep secrets anymore. And I know you don't either."

"True. I've kept enough damaging secrets for one lifetime."

"What's happening today anyway?"

"Your orientation, I think. Introducing you to the other engineers. That's all Warner told me."

"What else has Warner told you?" Fitz felt a betraying twinge of suspicion shudder through his system.

"Nothing that you don't already know, Fitz. I promise. He doesn't trust me _that_ much."

A beep disturbs the comfortable silence that had washed over the room.

"Huh."

"What?"

"Warner wants to see you. Without me. Why would he want to see you alone? I recommended you for this, I'm your supervisor of sorts. I should be there."

"I'm sure it's fine, Grant. You said he has a use for me, right? He's not going to put me in danger if he needs me to do a job for him."

Ward shrugged. "I guess so. Warner's just…tricky sometimes. He speaks in metaphors and rarely reveals his real agenda. Just be careful."

Fitz swallowed heavily and nodded. He rolled out of the bed, scanning for his clothes. He couldn't remember the last time he was so completely comfortable being naked. Ward certainly wasn't complaining judging by the way his eyes roamed Fitz's skin like he was a snack.

"Stop looking at me like that," Fitz chuckled.

Ward pretended to close his eyes. "Like what?"

"Like you're gonna eat me."

Ward stretched out across the bed. "Well, I just might." He patted the bed next to him invitingly.

Fitz sighed. "If I didn't have a meeting with your boss, I would've been right there with you, Ward." He silently dressed himself, realising that he didn't have any other clothes. He sincerely hoped he'd be able to acquire some new ones, rather than only having one set of everything. He hated reusing underwear, but what other choice did he have? He made a note to mention it to Warner during their meeting. "I'll come back here afterwards?"

Ward shrugged. "I don't know where I'll be. I have patrol duty and I have to check in with tech about their latest weapons test. It can take some time. Depending on what Warner has you doing, you might be busy."

Fitz nodded. "I guess I'll just see you later."

"Count on it."

* * *

Fitz waited outside Warner's office, looking up at the security camera in the corner, as if scrutinising. It never hurt to know the locations of the security cameras, Fitz had learned from various stealth and tracking missions with S.H.I.E.L.D..

The door panel in front of him slid open, the guards prodding him forward. As he entered, they rotated and stepped in front of it. The panel slid closed again and Fitz was trapped.

"Ah, Mr. Fitz. Do make yourself comfortable, won't you?"

Fitz ambled forwards, disliking the environment of the office for the second time. It really made him feel uncomfortable but he couldn't place exactly why. Fitz slipped into the chair opposite Warner's desk and he intertwined his hands.

Warner settles into his own seat and crossed his legs firmly. "After our introduction last night, I realised that I neglected to fully elucidate on your role here."

"You wanted my engineering skills for some project, that's the extent of my knowledge on the subject."

Warner dipped his head. "I asked my agents to gather intel on potential engineers that we could use for it and Ward gave your name faster than I could even say 'project'. It's clear he recognises your _talents_." He smirked.

Fitz blinked. Does he know? That smirk plus the intonation spelled out trouble. "I'm the only engineer that he knows since he was undercover at S.H.I.E.L.D. for years and I don't think Hydra operatives are going to be too willing to co-operate."

"Are you saying that you are?"

Fitz shrugged. "You didn't really give me a choice. Snatching me away from my home is one thing, but using my former…friend to do it was something else. You haven't given me much in the way of positive qualities. Why would I co-operate willingly?"

Warner smiled sickeningly. "That's where the project comes in. What if I told you that this project would help the entire human race?"

"I would say that you're trying to use my good sensibility to manipulate me into helping you with what is most likely a weapon to target someone and put people in danger."

"Wow, Grant really did a number on your trust issues, didn't he?"

Fitz shuffled slightly. "It's not just him, but you could say that."

"What I'm planning, Fitz, is something much less sinister. I would tell you all about it now, but I don't think I could explain on a wavelength that you would understand."

Fitz opened his mouth to argue, but Warner shot him down.

"You misunderstand. That was a compliment which sounded like an insult. I was going to let one of the other engineers explain it to you, so you get the full taste of what you will actually be doing."

"Okay."

"I have to say I'm a tad disappointed in you, Leopold."

"It's Fitz. And why would that be?"

"I haven't seen more from you than noncommittal responses and secret conversations with Ward."

Warner smirked as Fitz's signature deer in headlights expression and stepped closer, so that he was blocking Fitz from the rest of the room, mouth close to his ear. "Listen to me very closely, Fitz. I'm not sure what you and Ward are planning, but it's only a matter of time that I find out. If it's something that could potentially derail my plans, I'll have him executed and you forced to stay here until you die, do you _understand_?"

Fitz just nodded. Nothing he could say would help in this situation. His snarky responses definitely wouldn't do him any good. Warner turned away.

"Good! Glad we're on the same page once more. Your first session doesn't start for another few hours, so do feel free to explore the facilities. If you'd like, Ward can show you around. You two seemed to be quite accustomed to each other's company."

Fitz tried so hard not to blush, he really did. But to no avail. Warner turned back to him and smirked. That damn smirk.

"You may go," Warner said flatly and Fitz needed no more instruction. He turned on his heel and left the room quicker than he ever had left a room before in his life. The electric tension was enough to bite.

Fitz thought back on his words as he paced down the corridor, the guards switching formation once again.

 _I'll have him executed_.

Fitz shook his head, anger rising in his veins. He made his way back to Ward's room, thinking about everything that Warner knew…or had implied. He implied that knew about Fitz and Ward's entanglement, but didn't know what they spoke about. Did the room have video cameras with no audio? Did Ward know this?

Fitz breathed deeply, washing away his paranoia. He stood out Ward's room and knocked. He didn't know why he knocked rather than walking in, but he and Ward were still reacquainting themselves to each other. It felt like the polite thing to do.

The door opened and it wasn't Ward.

A bright-faced, attractive man smiled back at him. He couldn't have been more than a few years older than Fitz.

"Uh, hello," Fitz mumbled.

"Hi! I haven't seen you around here before. I'm guessing you're Fitz, the new engineer?"

Fitz nodded dumbly. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Jesse. I'm an engineer too. I'm also going to go ahead and guess that you're not looking for this room?"

Fitz found his comfortability and smiled. "You're good at that guessing thing."

"It's a talent. Though I'm not surprised you got the wrong room, they all look the same here and you haven't been around long enough to know their nuances."

"I was looking for uh…Grant Ward's room?" Fitz wasn't sure why it sounded like a question.

"Oh, that's two doors down. Same side. You were close!"

"Oh. Damn it. I'll get that right next time."

Jesse nudged him slightly. "Get you going into Ward's room. He's really something to look at, isn't he?"

And for the third time that morning, Leopold Fitz blushed.

"Yeah, you could say that. Anyway, I'd better go."

"Oh, of course. Don't let me keep you. I'll see you later at your orientation, though. Not sure if this is a spoiler, but I'm assigned to your task station, so we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Fitz smiled. "I look forward to it."

Jesse parted with him warmly and Fitz slid across to Ward's room, this time deciding to barrel straight in.

Ward was stood by the window, adjusting his tie. He was dressed in a full suit, jacket still hanging over the chair. Fitz shut the door audibly and crossed the room, smirk finding its way back onto his face.

"You're doing that wrong."

Ward chuckled. "No. I'm not."

"Yes you are." Fitz dropped his voice. He grasped the tie in his hands and undid the knot, throwing it to the floor.

"Fitz…"

"You can be a little late, can't you?"

"Actually…"

"Just say yes and kiss me," he breathed, eyes peering into Ward's luscious light brown ones.

"Fuck," Ward whispered and kissed him deeply, square on the mouth. Fitz wrapped his arms around Ward's waist and stepped in closer. Ward held him firmly in place as they kissed. "God, the things you do to me, Fitz. I wasted so much time."

"We both did," Fitz whispered back as he pushed Ward onto the bed, stripping off his shirt.

If Warner really was watching them, then he was going to give him a show.


	4. Discover Me

Chapter 4- Discover Me

And he did indeed give the potentially hidden cameras the show of their lives.

But their little bubble of togetherness ended with a blaring alarm that pierced through the room.

Ward groaned, kissing Fitz's shoulder quickly. "That's the alarm for first session."

Fitz smirked. "You're back at school?"

"Something like that. Our days are tightly structured, though we do have quite a lot of free time provided we're on schedule with the projects."

"Sounds a lot like high school to me," Fitz mumbled. "Actually, it sounds more like the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy."

"Combat training was no walk in the park either. I don't know how rigorous it was down in the nerd division, though."

Fitz scoffed. "That group of nerds save your damn life on a daily basis."

Ward held up his hands. "I retract."

Fitz kissed his cheek. "You're lucky you're nice to look at."

"So I've been told."

Ward walked Fitz to orientation as planned, and the latter was astounded by the gravity of these projects. He passed all sorts of stations in a lot of different technical areas. He longed to get his hands on the quantum physics section, but Ward reminded him that everyone was there to serve a very specific purpose and Fitz would only be allowed access to the Engineering division.

As Ward handed Fitz off to the engineers, a familiar face popped up from behind a machine.

"Leopold Fitz!"

Fitz smiled. "Jesse. Hey. I'm here for my orientation."

Jesse nodded, turning a screw a few more times as he moved. He slid his chair out of the desk area and gestured to the large space around them.

"Welcome to the Engineering Division. This entire room is ours."

Fitz's eyes bulged from his head. "Wait...there are only _two_ of us?"

"On this particular part of the project, yes. Other rooms are designated to other areas of engineering, such as biological and chemical. But for us tool guys, this is what we get. Two engineers, one huge ass room. So, I thought I'd start by answering any preliminary initial questions that you might have about the project. I'm not sure how much you know already, so feel free to delve into the basics first."

Fitz hummed. "What _is_ the project?"

Jesse smiled. "I'm glad you asked that first. No beating around the bush here. So, you know you're not to reveal any of this to anyone, correct? Not even your supervisor. As it stands, Warner and I are the only people who know about this, soon to include yourself."

Fitz nodded. "I can do that. I don't know anyone here yet anyway."

"That'll come in time, Leo. Basically, this machine is going to be a radar which factors in advanced variables and only targets certain types of people. That way, when an enemy needs to be taken out, we can pinpoint their exact biological signature and prevent mass casualty."

Fitz was reluctantly impressed. They had something similar back at S.H.I.E.L.D but it was rather unreliable and only a last-resort type of tool. "So who are we targeting?"

Jesse shrugged. "HYDRA. Who else?"

 _S.H.I.E.L.D_ , Fitz thought absently. But that was a problem for another day.

"This way, we can wipe out every last member of HYDRA without them really even knowing anything about it, if that's how we want to play it."

" _Is_ that how we want to play it?" Fitz chose his pronouns carefully, selecting to prove his allegiance to whatever the cause really was. He was still suspicious of Warner's neutrality and didn't believe it for a second. If it _was_ true, it just meant that he wanted to wipe out both HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D and then fill the empty vacuum with his own organisation so there would be no interruptions or conflicts when the time came for him to serve up with his endgame.

"Honestly, I don't know. Just between us, I was told that the weapon was more of a precaution and an empty threat than an actual indicator of things to come. Something to prove that we're serious and that we have the means to wipe out a whole group if it means putting a stop to the war. It's quite noble, I think."

Fitz didn't dare ask the next question that bubbled on his tongue, but he felt like Jesse already knew he was thinking about it.

"You're wondering if there's a similar weapon built with S.H.I.E.L.D in mind," Jesse said, interrupting his thoughts.

Fitz shrugged. "Is there?"

"Truthfully," Jesse replied, "I don't know. I only know the details about this project. Like I said, it's very low profile. Need to know basis only. Only Warner has overseen the whole project. I think it's so that if somebody gets captured or interrogated, they only have a very small piece of the puzzle. Sure, it takes a little more time to plan and prepare and execute, but it protects the group on a large scale if anything were to go wrong."

Fitz actually thought that was a very smart plan. It ensured that no secrets got out to their enemies and couldn't be used against them. Fitz suddenly thought of all the S.H.I.E.L.D intel he knew. He had the highest clearance now, he knew practically every cog in the machine very well. He was an asset, but also a threat. If Warner were to gain access to the information he knew...well, it would have been like it probably was with Ward when he delivered his intel to Warner. The difference was that he had S.H.I.E.L.D _and_ HYDRA. That was when Fitz realised that Ward was the most valuable asset Warner had. It made Fitz feel relieved that he'd probably be safe until he stepped out of line, but also that Ward probably knew more than he was letting on...

Fitz barged through Ward's bedroom door breathlessly. "Did you know about it?"

Ward stood by the window, blinking slowly. "You're gonna have to be more specific."

"My orientation. The other engineer, yeah there are only two of us by the way, told me all about what Warner brought me here to do."

"Fitz, I'm still not following. Just explain."

"I was brought here to build a weapon. One that will specifically target those with HYDRA bio-data. I'm guessing you collected the roster and that's being implanted into the device for when the times comes. Which means if there's one for HYDRA, there's one for S.H.I.E.L.D, too. What I'm asking is, did you _know_ about them?"

Ward shook his head. "Fitz, no. I had no idea. I'm guessing you weren't supposed to tell me that, but you assumed I knew anyway."

"You had to have known. You're the HYDRA _representative_ or whatever. There's no way you weren't informed."

"I'm not lying to you, I didn't know about it."

"You...you really didn't?"

Ward smiled, shaking his head again. He took a step closer to Fitz. "No. I know it's hard to believe, but I really am on your side here. All of us here are, in fact. Everyone wants peace, right?"

"But everyone wants to go about it in different ways," Fitz retorted darkly.

Ward sighed. "I think we need to recalibrate. Just start completely fresh, build trust from the ground level upwards. We can't just sleep together when you still don't trust me fully. So no more sex until we've made some progress with us."

Fitz gaped. "I'm supposed to just...hold out?"

"You can do it, Fitz. If I can resist you, you sure as hell can resist me."

"Not true."

Ward stretches out a hand in offering. "Hi, I'm Grant Ward. It's nice to meet you."

Fitz stared at his hand for a lingering moment. "Leo Fitz."

When Fitz entered the engineering division the next day, he had a new spring in his step. He had thought basely about the possibility of destroying HYDRA for good and thought it was a good play. He would investigate about the S.H.I.E.L.D directives when he could and had gained some trust here, but for now he would work on the HYDRA device and find out how exactly it worked. The more knowledge he possessed about the operations, the easier it would be for him to take it down if he needed to.

Jesse was already there when he arrived, even though Fitz had made a point to arrive early.

"You live here or something?"

Jesse quirked his lips into a smile. "I believe you're already seen my living quarters."

"Right. So I have. I thought we might use this morning for you to take me through exactly how this works. Or is going to work when it's assembled."

Jesse nodded, stepping closer to Fitz. "There's time for that later. I thought we could use this morning to...properly acquaint ourselves with each other." He put a hand on Fitz's shoulder. "If you know what I mean."

Fitz paled. "I don't...I mean...you're nice and all, but—."

Jesse smiled. "Don't say any more, Fitz. Just think about how nice I am." He pressed a kiss to Fitz's lips experimentally. Fitz immediately pushing back, using his S.H.I.E.L.D core training to throw the boy backwards.

"I'm not...interested in you like that."

Jesse shrugged. "Okay." His eyes flickered upwards, a small smile playing on his lips.

Fitz whirled around, spotting the camera that lay above them. He knew instantly that Ward would have been manning the cameras that day.

He knew that Warner would try to isolate the two of them. Any collaborations between people even associated with S.H.I.E.L.D once upon a time wouldn't have been good for his endgame. Even the risk of Ward turning was enough. And he had done it before, he had it in him.

Fitz was already a wildcard, the loose cannon who had been forced to co-operate or risk his life. He knew that Warner would expend of him if he needed to, without compunction. He wasn't an important player in this game.

He just wondered how far Ward could go before he overstepped his bounds.

His immediate thought was 'not as far as he might need to'.

But that was a problem for the future.

Wasn't it?


End file.
